Dow Chemical: First Foreign Corp Awarded License with Saudi Arabia

Dow Chemical Co reported that it was the first foreign corporation to be given a Saudi Arabian trading license. The agreement comes on the heels of Saudi Arabia’s decision to expand its economy and shake loose its dependency on oil exports in the middle of a global oil price nosedive.

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s deputy crown prince Mohammad bin Salman, held a full day of meetings with U.S. lawmakers. The meetings were part of an effort intended to repair ties with Washington and to promote the prince’s strategy to discourage Saudi Arabia from generating oil revenue.

The license will hand over control to Dow Chemical in the country’s trading sector according to a company statement made Thursday.
In April, Saudi Arabia announced a reform effort that included a bundle of new social and economic policies meant to increase non-oil revenue from 163.5 billion riyals (generated last year) to 600 billion riyals ($160.06 billion) by 2020. By 2030, the plan aims to generate more than 1 trillion riyals.

Previously in mid-2014, amid a plunge in oil prices, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia established the reform program known as Vision 2030. The plan is dependent on a growing private sector, selling shares in the kingdom-owned oil company and decreasing government subsidies.